23 Genius Baking Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier

By The Krazy Coupon Lady

1. Dip cookie cutters in flour first before cutting dough to help cookies retain their shape.

Use a pastry brush to remove any extra flour.

2. Keep cookies fresh by putting a slice of bread in an airtight container with them.

3. Ripen bananas quickly by baking them for 40 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

Place unripe bananas on a parchment lined baking sheet and stick them in a preheated oven. Check bananas after 30 minutes, and if they’re black and soft to the touch, they’re ready. Make sure you cool the bananas completely before using them in recipes.

4. Use half a ripe, mashed banana as an egg substitute when baking sweets.

1/2 banana = 1 egg

Whether you’re making pancakes or quick breads, use a ripe banana when you’re out of eggs. The moisture from the banana binds ingredients together just as well as any cackleberry.

5. Use a potato peeler to make chocolate peels for garnish.

6. Heat a knife under hot water, dry it off, and use it to slice through cakes perfectly.

7. Can’t find a place for your dough to rise? Stick it in a low-temperature, preheated oven.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees then turn it off before sticking your dough in.

8. Get room temperature eggs by submerging refrigerated eggs in warm water for 3 minutes.

Fill a cereal bowl with warm water and bathe your eggs in there for 3 minutes.

9. Soften a stick of butter quickly with a heated glass.

Pour boiling water into a glass to heat it up. Then, dump out the water and place it over the stick of butter. The butter will be softened within minutes without it completely melting.

10. Grate butter for easy mixing when making biscuits or pie crust.

11. Create homemade oat flour with a blender.

Place 1 cup of rolled oats in a blender and pulse on high for about 30 seconds or until the oatmeal becomes the consistency of flour.

12. And run granulated sugar through a blender or food processor to get confectioners’ sugar.

Add 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to a blender or food processor and use the pulse setting until a powder forms.

13. Keep brown sugar from clumping with marshmallows.

14. Keep flour and other ingredients from flying by draping a towel over the mixing bowl.

15. Or, create your own splashguard with an ice cream bucket lid.

Use the lid from a gallon ice cream bucket, and cut from a hole in the center, adjusting the opening based on the size and movement of your mixer’s paddle. When mixing, you may need to hold down the lid. Just throw it in the dishwasher when done!

16. Use a paper plate as a hand-mixer splash guard.

17. Coat measuring cups and spoons with cooking spray to use every last drop of an ingredient.

18. Use unflavored dental floss to cut cheesecakes and layered cakes.

19. Turn one big pie into a dozen mini pies with a biscuit cutter.

Spray the inside and outside of a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter with nonstick cooking spray before cutting straight into your ready-made pumpkin pie (HINT: Costco pumpkin pies work really well with this tip). Gently slide the pie out by using a knife or spoon to tap the outside of the cutter. Top mini pies with whipped cream and enjoy!

20. Get fluffier whipped cream when you chill a beater and bowl beforehand.

21. Scoop up a bit of broken eggshell from a bowl with another piece of eggshell.

22. Scrub off stubborn food from pans with a crumpled up piece of foil.

Don’t try this on nonstick pots and pans!

23. Or, clean baking sheets by making a paste with baking soda and peroxide.

While wearing gloves, put about 1/4 cup of baking soda in a small glass bowl and add just enough hydrogen peroxide to form a paste. Using steel wool or a sponge, rub the paste into your baking pan’s stains. Allow the paste to sit for about 45 minutes before wiping and rinsing clean.